ACMUI Membership

The membership of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) includes health care professionals from various disciplines. The ACMUI is composed of the following: a nuclear medicine physician; a nuclear cardiologist; a medical physicist in nuclear medicine unsealed byproduct material; a medical physicist in radiation therapy; a radiation safety officer; a nuclear pharmacist; two radiation oncologists; a patients' rights advocate; a Food and Drug Administration representative; an Agreement State representative; a health care administrator; and a diagnostic radiologist.

Membership in the ACMUI is gained through a formal nomination and selection process. To fill vacancies on the ACMUI, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) publishes a notice in the Federal Register requesting nominations from interested parties. After receiving nominations, the NRC convenes a selection panel consisting of NRC staff and a non-NRC Federal employee. This non-NRC Federal employee is always a professional who specializes in the vacancy to be filled. The selection panel evaluates each nominee and sends a recommendation for appointment by the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. The Director reviews the recommendation, consults with the Commission, and appoints the ACMUI member.

ACMUI members are appointed to four-year terms and, with approval from NRC, may elect to serve up to two consecutive terms, for a maximum term of eight years.

Philip O. Alderson, M.D., serves as the Healthcare Administrator representative on the ACMUI. Dr. Alderson was appointed to the ACMUI in March 2014.

Dr. Alderson earned his bachelor's and medical degrees from Washington University in St. Louis. He is board certified by the American Board of Nuclear Medicine and the American Board of Radiology (Diagnostic).

In April 2008 Dr. Alderson was appointed Dean, Saint Louis University School of Medicine. As Dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. Alderson oversees the education, research and clinical service missions of the School. Since February 2009 Dr. Alderson also has served as a Vice President at Saint Louis University (Health Sciences 2009-11, Medical Affairs 2011-present). Prior to these appointments, Dr. Alderson was a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes from 1975-80 and a professor of radiology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University from 1980-2008 where he served as chair of the Department of Radiology (1988-2008) and as President of the Medical Board at New York Presbyterian (2004-06).

Dr. Alderson has served as President of the American Board of Radiology and the American Roentgen Ray Society, as well as other medical organizations. He was a member of the National Advisory Council of the NIH (2008-2012). He is currently a member of the NIH Council of Councils (2013-2016). Dr. Alderson has over 200 publications, including 4 books, 40 book chapters and over 150 journal articles. He has made more than 200 presentations at local, national and international meetings and scientific symposia and is listed in "Who's Who in the World," "Who's Who in America," "Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare," among others.

Francis M. Costello

Francis M. Costello, CHP, serves as the Agreement State Representative on the ACMUI. Mr. Costello was appointed to the ACMUI in May 2014.

Mr. Costello holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics (1970) from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a Master of Science in Health Physics (1975) from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Mr. Costello was certified by the American Board of Health Physics in 1977.

Mr. Costello currently serves as a Radiation Health Physicist for the Pennsylvania Bureau for Radiation Protection in Norristown, PA. He has served in this capacity since 2007, where he is responsible for the inspection of byproduct materials licensees, participates in emergency response activities, and has been the lead investigator for medical events involving prostate brachytherapy, High Dose Remote Afterloaders, and yttrium-90 microspheres. Mr. Costello has given presentations on 10 CFR Part 37, and medical events involving Y-90 microspheres and I-125 prostate brachytherapy, at the OAS and CRCPD annual conferences. Prior to this, Mr. Costello worked for NRC Region I for 30 years, where he performed licensing and inspection for materials licensees, reviewed Agreement State programs as an Agreement State Officer, and served as a branch chief and Division Director. While at the NRC, Mr. Costello received the agency's Meritorious and Distinguished Service Awards.

Mr. Costello is active in various professional organizations including the Health Physics Society, the Organization of Agreement States, the Conference for Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD), and the Delaware Valley Society for Radiation Safety, where he served as chair. In addition, Mr. Costello currently serves as the Agreement State representative on the 10 CFR Part 35 Steering Committee and chairs the CRCPD working group SR–V, which is converting 10 CFR Part 37 to a Suggested State Regulation.

Vasken Dilsizian, M.D.

Vasken Dilsizian, M.D., FACC, FAHA, serves as the nuclear cardiologist representative on the ACMUI. Dr. Dilsizian was appointed to the ACMUI in May 2014.

Dr. Dilsizian earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science Degrees in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts , and a Medical Degree from Tufts University School of Medicine, in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Dilsizian is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine, and the American Board of Nuclear Medicine.

Dr. Dilsizian was appointed as professor of radiology and medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2001, and the Director of Cardiovascular Nuclear Medicine and Cardiac PET within the Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Dr. Dilsizian was appointed as the Chief of the Nuclear Medicine Division within the Department of Diagnostic Radiology University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2007. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Dilsizian served as the Director of Nuclear Cardiology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1992-2001.

Dr. Dilsizian is active and serves (and has served) in leadership roles in various professional organizations including the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC), the Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), the American College of Cardiology (ACC), and the American Heart Association (AHA). He is a founding member of ASNC and currently serves as the Chair for the ASNC 2014 Scientific Program Committee. In addition, he is the President of the Cardiovascular Council and Director-at-Large of the House of Delegates of SNMMI. Dr. Dilsizian also has experience serving on an FDA Federal Advisory Committee (Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee).

Susan M. Langhorst, Ph.D.

Susan M. Langhorst, Ph.D., serves as the radiation safety officer representative on the ACMUI. Dr. Langhorst was appointed in September 2009.

After completing her undergraduate education at the University of Missouri-Rolla, Dr. Langhorst earned her masters and doctorate of philosophy in nuclear engineering and health physics at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She went on to serve as the health physics manager at the University of Missouri Research Reactor and eventually as the radiation safety officer at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Langhorst spent a year sabbatical as an Oak Ridge Associated Universities Faculty Research Fellow in Washington, D.C. supporting the Office of Science and Technology’s Committee on Interagency Radiation Research and Policy Coordination. She currently serves as the radiation safety officer for Washington University in St. Louis and is on faculty at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology.

Dr. Langhorst has been involved with several national organizations. She has served as Chair of the Health Physics Society (HPS) Radiation Safety Officer Section Nomination Committee. She has also served on the HPS American National Standards Institute (ANSI) N34 Committee. Dr. Langhorst was also involved with National Academy of Sciences serving on the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board. She has chaired the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) Program Committee on Operational Radiation Safety and currently serves as a Council Member.

Dr. Langhorst has been co-author of several NCRP reports and an ANSI standard on operational radiation safety and training programs, some of which focused on educational institutions and research reactors.

Steven R. Mattmuller

Steven R. Mattmuller serves as the nuclear pharmacist representative on the ACMUI. Mr. Mattmuller was appointed in March 2008.

Mr. Mattmuller received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Ohio Northern University and a Master of Science in Radiopharmacy from the University of Southern California. Mr. Mattmuller is board certified in nuclear pharmacy by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties.

Regarding clinical experience, Mr. Mattmuller has held positions in Ohio and Missouri. Following his graduate education Mr. Mattmuller has held staff positions at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri and at Kettering Medical Center in Kettering, Ohio. Currently, Mr. Mattmuller is the Chief Nuclear Pharmacist at Kettering Medical Center (KMC).

In his current position he has direct responsibilities for the radiopharmaceuticals used at KMC. This includes the radiopharmaceuticals used in the clinical SPECT diagnostic nuclear medicine and the therapeutic nuclear medicine service. Also included are the cyclotron produced PET radiopharmaceuticals used for the clinical PET diagnostic service and those for the PET research programs.

Mr. Mattmuller has participated in a variety of capacities in several professional societies and has served on numerous institutional and professional society committees. Some notable institutional committee appointments include the Institutional Review Board and the Radiation Safety Committee. The two professional societies he has most actively participated in are the Society of Nuclear Medicine, (Board Member of the Missouri Valley Chapter) and the American Pharmacists Association. Currently he is the Chair-Elect of the Nuclear Pharmacy Practice Section of the Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management of the American Pharmacists Association.

Michael D. O'Hara, Ph.D.

Michael D. O'Hara, Ph.D., has served as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) representative on the ACMUI since November 2014.

Dr. O'Hara earned his bachelor's degree in biology from D'Youville College in Buffalo, a master's degree in Natural Sciences from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a doctorate of philosphy in Biological Sciences from Wayne State University in Detroit. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Experimental Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

He remained as a faculty member at Thomas Jefferson University Medical College in the Department of Radiation Oncology. He lead research efforts investigating the impact of chemical agents that modify the thermal response of normal and malignant tissues during thermal/radiotherapy and investigated bone marrow transplantation as a method to treat osteogenesis imperfecta. Dr. O'Hara regularly taught an undergraduate course in "Health Physics and Radiation Biology", lectured medical residents and was a member of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Dr. O'Hara moved to Cordis / a Johnson and Johnson company to manage the firm's radiation therapy efforts involving radioactive endovascular stents and catheter-based radiation sources. He was promoted to a Johnson and Johnson Research Fellow and continued to assist Cordis and other Johnson and Johnson companies with radiation-based therapies.

He joined the Food and Drug Administration in 2004 in the Division of Biology in the Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories within the Center for Devices and Radiological Health. His activities included research studies involving Relative Biological effectiveness of ionizing radiation and the thermal / radiotherapeutic response of human tumor cells. He also served as the chairman of the Animal Care and Use Committee and has served as a member of the CDRH Radiology Standards Committee, the CDRH Radiofrequency Working Group, the Interagency Radiofrequency Working group and the Health and Human Services Radiation Biodosimetry Working Group. Dr. O'Hara served the Office of Device Evaluation and the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics as an Acting Branch Chief and later an Acting Deputy Division Director. He currently serves the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological health as one of the Deputy Division Directors of the Division of Radiological Health. This division is responsible for the pre-market evaluation, post-market medical device reporting and compliance for all radiation emitting medical devices.

Christopher J. Palestro, M.D.

Christopher J. Palestro, M.D. serves as the nuclear medicine physician representative on the ACMUI. Dr. Palestro was appointed in September 2011.

Dr. Palestro received a B.S. in Biology from Fordham University, Bronx, NY, and his M.D. from the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, Guadalajara Mexico. He completed a residency in Diagnostic Radiology at the Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, followed by a residency in Nuclear Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, also in New York City. He was certified by the American Board of Nuclear Medicine in 1982.

From 1982-1985, Dr. Palestro was the Chief of the Section of Nuclear Medicine at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, CT. From 1985-1992, he was an attending physician and assistant clinical director in the Andre-Meyer Department of Physics-Nuclear Medicine of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. He was appointed an Assistant Professor of Radiology in the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in 1985, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1990. In 1992 Dr. Palestro was appointed Chief of the Division of Nuclear Medicine of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY. In the same year he was appointed an Associate Professor of Nuclear Medicine and Radiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University (Bronx, NY), and was promoted to Professor in 1996.

In 2007 Dr. Palestro was appointed chief of the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging of the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System, a position he currently holds. He has been a professor of Radiology at the Hofstra University School of Medicine in partnership with North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System since 2009.

An internationally recognized authority on nuclear medicine imaging of infection, Dr. Palestro has authored or coauthored more than 125 peer reviewed articles, and more than 50 book chapters and review articles. He has served as a reviewer for the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, European Journal of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, Radiology, and the New England Journal of Medicine, among others. Dr. Palestro has been an associate editor of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, and currently serves on the editorial boards of Radiology and the Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. A life member and past chair of the American Board of Nuclear Medicine, Dr. Palestro currently is chair of the Accredited Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Nuclear Medicine Residency Review Committee. He is a past president of The International Society of Radiolabeled Blood Elements, an organization dedicated to the investigation of nuclear medicine techniques for imaging inflammation and infection. He is chair of the Infection Section of the Society of Nuclear Medicine Procedure Guidelines Task Force, and Vice-chair of the Hematopoietic and Musculoskeletal Sections of that society's Lifelong Learning Self-Assessment Programs. Dr. Palestro has received awards for "Reviewing with Distinction" and "Reviewing with Special Distinction," from the journal Radiology and in 2003 was the recipient of Greater New York Chapter of the Society of Nuclear Medicine "Berson-Yalow Award." He frequently has been selected as one of the "Best Doctors in New York" and as one of the "Best Doctors in America."

John H. Suh, M.D.

John H. Suh, M.D., serves as one of the radiation oncologist representatives on the ACMUI. Dr. Suh was appointed in October 2010.

Dr. Suh received his bachelor's and medical degree from the University of Miami's Honors Program in Medical Education. He then completed his residency and fellowship in radiation oncology at the Cleveland Clinic.

Following his residency, he joined the faculty at the Cleveland Clinic in 1995 where he specialized in neuro-oncology and stereotactic radiosurgery. From 1996 to 2002, he was the residency director. In 1999, he became clinical director for the department. In 2003, he became the Director of the Cleveland Clinic Gamma Knife Center. Since 2006, he has served as Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute. He is also Associate Director of the Gamma Knife Center and the Brain Tumor and Neuro-oncology Center at the Cleveland Clinic. He is board certified in radiation oncology and currently serves as the section head for the Central Nervous System/pediatric section for the American Board of Radiology's oral board examination.

His awards have included the National Brain Tumor Foundation Clinical Research Award, Teacher of the Year Award, and selection as one of America's Top Physicians for Cancer. He was the principal investigator for two phase III trials testing a radiation sensitizer with whole brain radiation therapy for patients with brain metastases.

His patient care, research and teaching interests include adult and pediatric brain tumors, Gamma Knife radiosurgery, and innovative radiation approaches. He has authored over 120 publications and has served as the institutional principal investigator for the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group at the Cleveland Clinic since 1995. Dr. Suh has lectured extensively locally, nationally and internationally. He serves as a reviewer for a number of medical journals and is a member of many professional societies.

Bruce R. Thomadsen, Ph.D.

Bruce R. Thomadsen, Ph.D., serves as the medical physicist in radiation therapy representative on the ACMUI. Dr. Thomadsen was appointed to the ACMUI in October 2007, was appointed Vice Chair of the ACMUI in October 2009, and was appointed Chair of the ACMUI in September 2013.

Dr. Thomadsen is board certified by the American Board of Radiology in radiological physics, the American Board of Health Physics in comprehensive health physics, and the American Board of Medical Physics in radiation oncology physics. He holds an undergraduate degree in physics and political science from the University of Michigan, a Master of Science degree in physics from Michigan State University, and a master’s and Ph.D. in medical physics from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Thomadsen was a resident in radiological physics at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan.

Dr. Thomadsen served as a medical physicist at Hurley Hospital, in Flint, Michigan and St. Barnabas Medical Center, in Short Hills, New Jersey, before going to the University of Wisconsin, where he has worked since 1975, except for one year (1985-86) on exchange with Copenhagen County Hospital in Denmark. At the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Thomadsen has served as the chair of the University Radiation Safety Committee since 1992 and has been very active in clinical service, research, and teaching.

Service to professional societies has been an important part of Dr. Thomadsen’s career, and he was made a fellow of the American Association of Physicist in Medicine (AAPM). He has served on and chaired many AAPM committees, including the Radiation Safety Committee. He has also been active in the American Brachytherapy Society
and served on panels for the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measures and the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement. Dr. Thomadsen has been active in the Commission on Accreditation of Medical
Physics Education Programs and with the American Board of Radiology both as and examiner and with the maintenance of certificate program.

Brachytherapy physics has been one of the main areas of Dr. Thomadsen’s research, but he has also been involved in research on quality assurance and patient safety, as well as dosimetry for external-beam radiotherapy.

Laura M. Weil

Laura M. Weil serves as the patients’ rights advocate on the ACMUI. Ms. Weil was appointed in August 2011.

Ms. Weil earned her Bachelors of Arts degree from SUNY Albany. She obtained a Masters degree from Sarah Lawrence College's graduate program in Health Advocacy. Her area of advocacy specialization centers on the rights of human subjects in clinical trial research.

She is Director Emeritus of Sarah Lawrence College's master's degree program in Health Advocacy, where she served on the college's graduate faculty for 13 years. Additionally, she taught courses in clinical ethics at Touro College Health Sciences Program.

She serves on Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center’s Institutional Review Board, where she is a reviewer of proposed clinical trials with respect to patients’ rights. She has served as a consultant to the National Institute of Mental Health, reviewing human subjects research applications for federal funding. Her career includes positions as a patient advocate at several medical centers in New York City, including nine years as the director of patient advocacy at Beth Israel Medical Centers.

Ms. Weil served as president of New York State Society of Patient Representatives and was a board member of the National Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy of the American Hospital Association. She was a founding member on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants and a member of the Metropolitan New York Ethics Network.

James S. Welsh, M.D.

James S. Welsh, M.D., serves as one of the radiation oncologist representatives on the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI). Dr. Welsh was appointed in February 2007.

Dr. Welsh earned a master’s degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University after graduating with academic distinction from Binghamton University. Dr. Welsh earned his medical degree at Stony Brook School of Medicine and then completed his residency training in radiation oncology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Following his residency, he joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins and was an Assistant Professor of Oncology. He then joined the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison where he became a clinical professor of Human Oncology and Medical Physics. He is currently Professor of Neurosurgery, Radiology and Radiation Oncology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport and is an attending radiation oncologist with the Willis-Knighton Hospital in Shreveport. He is board certified in radiation oncology and neuro-oncology and had composed questions for the written board examination for several years.

Dr Welsh has authored or co-authored numerous scientific papers, review articles and book chapters. His academic awards have included induction into Phi Beta Kappa and the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honors society. He is a fellow of the American College of Radiation Oncology and was the recipient of a clinical teaching award at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center and was selected as one of America’s Top Physicians in radiation oncology.

In 2002, Dr. Welsh was the first physician to treat a patient using helical tomotherapy. In addition to pioneering research on helical tomotherapy, he has conducted research in the physics and radiobiology of intensity modulated radiation therapy, radiopharmaceutical therapy, electronic brachytherapy and prostate brachytherapy. His research interests include GammaKnife stereotactic radiosurgery for functional disorders, hadron therapy and dose-rate radiobiology. Dr. Welsh has lectured extensively locally, nationally and internationally. He serves on the editorial board for Technology in Cancer Research and Treatment and is associate editor for the American Journal of Clinical Oncology. He presently serves on several professional committees within the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). He holds numerous leadership positions within professional societies including presently serving as the President-Elect for the American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO).

Pat B. Zanzonico, Ph.D.

Pat B. Zanzonico, Ph.D., serves as the medical physicist in nuclear medicine representative on the ACMUI. Dr. Zanzonico was appointed in March 2010.

Dr. Pat Zanzonico received his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Cooper Union and his doctorate degree from the Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences. He served as a Research Fellow, Research Associate, and Assistant Member at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) before joining the faculty of the Department of Radiology (Nuclear Medicine) of the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in 1984. Dr. Zanzonico is currently Member and Attending Physicist at MSKCC, Co-Head of the Center's Nuclear Medicine Research and Small-Animal Imaging Laboratories, and Chairman of its Committee on Radiation.

Dr. Zanzonico also serves on the Special Contributing Faculty of the Gerstner Sloan-Kettering Graduate School at MSKCC and on the Radioactive Drug Research Committees (RDRCs) at MSKCC and at the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill-Cornell Medical College. He is a member of the Editorial Board and past Associate Editor of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, member of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP) and of the Medical Internal Radionuclide Dosimetry (MIRD) Committee, and an Expert Consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Dr. Zanzonico has over eighty peer-reviewed publications and over sixty-five invited presentations.

Dr. Zanzonico is actively involved in biomedical research on radionuclide-based methods for detecting and localizing tumor hypoxia, immune effector-cell trafficking, patient-specific dosimetry for radionuclide therapies, and small-animal and molecular imaging.